A Croatian member of the European Parliament said U.S. government funding of so-called "gay pride" events and programming in Europe is part of a coordinated attack on Christianity by "American and European left-wing politicians and NGOs."
Croatian MEP Ladislav Ilcic told the Globe Banner that athiest Marxist activist groups are specifically targeting Christian families in Eastern Europe.
"We have defended Christianity from the East, from the Ottoman empire, and today we have to defend Christianity from the West, from this crazy woke agenda," Ilcic said. "Croatia, Poland and Hungary are three countries that got the name Antimurale Christianitatis by the Holy See in the Middle Ages, and today Christianity and our societies are attacked by a woke agenda that is pushed and heavily financed by 'progressive' NGOs from the U.S. and by the U.S. State Department itself."
Ilcic called on U.S. politicians to speak out against taxpayer funding of pro-homosexual, anti-Christian programming.
"I see the strong connection between American and European left-wing politicians and NGOs. There is a reason for this," Ilcic said. "Unfortunately, a lot of American conservatives don't understand the importance of collaboration with like-minded European politicians. The attack on Christianity is our common problem, and we could fight against it together much stronger."
The Daily Caller reported that the U.S. State Department "bankrolling a gay film festival, an LGBT community conference and other (gay) pride events in... the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
"American taxpayers are footing the bill for LBGT pride week in the Czech city of Brno, records show. Events at the taxpayer-funded pride week included reading“queer children’s literature” to young children, a “picnic for queer youth” and an LGBT-affirming worship service performed by a female priest of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, according to the event’s website," the report said.
Ilcic, 53, is a violinist who became a member of European Parliament in July 2021. He previously served on the city council of Varazdin, his hometown, and led a group that created a Croatian constitutional prohibition against gay marriage.
In a 2013 referendum, 66 percent of Croatians voted to bar gay marriage in the country.
This month, IFamNews called Ilcic "one of the most important Christian, pro-family heroes in the European Pariament."
Ilcic is running for re-election as an independent. The elections are June 6-9.